The Children and Education Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee met to discuss several key issues, including safeguarding, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), youth engagement, and the council's financial outlook, with a particular focus on children's services. The committee agreed to the scope of the Young Carers Task and Finish Group, and heard presentations on the Barnet Safeguarding Children Partnership's annual report, updates on SEND and alternative provision, and the My Say Matters youth and democracy initiative. Members also reviewed the Cabinet Forward Plan and discussed the financial challenges facing children's services.

Barnet Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report

The committee scrutinised the Barnet Safeguarding Children Partnership (BSCP) Annual Report 2024-2025, which highlighted the partnership's work in strengthening leadership, tailoring work to local issues, driving continuous improvement, responding to serious safeguarding cases, creating feedback loops, and measuring the impact of their work. The report noted that Ofsted had praised the mature and positive relationships with police, health services, and designated safeguarding leads. Key areas of focus included:

• Promoting safer sleep for babies and infants.
• Ensuring children 'out of sight' of services receive timely help.
• Supporting children struggling with their gender identity.
• Tackling child exploitation, domestic abuse, and youth safety.
• Strengthening transitions for children into adulthood.

The report also acknowledged the persistent challenge of inequitable funding, with the council contributing more than its statutory partners, particularly the police. The committee noted the report and made no further recommendations.

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Update

The committee discussed the report on Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP), which provided an overview of the local and national context, rising complexity and demand, sufficiency of special school places, alternative provision updates, inspection and key system pressures, and the High Needs Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant¹.

Key points from the report included:

• Barnet's SEND outcomes remain exceptional, placing the borough in the top quartile nationally.
• Demand and complexity continue to rise, with a 49% increase in Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) between 2020 and 2024.
• The High Needs Block is forecast to overspend by £5.94 million, with Dedicated Schools Grant reserves fully committed.
• The largest financial pressures relate to specialist placement sufficiency, Section 19 education², post-16 top-ups, and unmet therapy provision.
• Capital investment to rebuild Oakleigh School and Mapledown School remains critical.
• Only around two-thirds of Speech and Language Therapy provision specified in EHCPs is currently delivered in mainstream settings.

The committee made several recommendations, including:

1. Noting the contents of the report and the implications for the council, particularly the increasing SEND population and the financial position of the High Needs Block.
2. Noting the mitigations in place, such as workforce investment, dispute resolution strengthening, AP reform, and the therapy 'spend to save' approach.
3. Supporting the continued focus on capital solutions, such as the Oakleigh and Mapledown rebuilds.
4. Agreeing to deeper-dive reporting on areas such as therapies, AP/Section 19, special school sufficiency, or High Needs Budget trend analysis.

During the discussion, Councillor Nigel Wildish asked about the stress on parents with children with additional needs, and the appeals process for EHCPs. Kim Miller, Director SEND and Inclusion (Barnet/BELS) clarified that cases that went to a hearing were not about issuing an EHCP. She added that in 2025, of 163 appeals, only 34 went to a hearing, and the council won 25 of those cases.

Councillor Nigel Young asked about comparative data on pupils in mainstream settings and whether it was possible to track pupils as they move into the workplace. He also asked about SEND spaces and how schools can access funding. The Cabinet Member for Family Friendly Barnet, Councillor Pauline Coakley Webb, said that progress on the special schools rebuild project would be brought back to the committee at regular intervals.

Councillor Giulia Innocenti asked about the Lewisham funding model and whether Jewish schools had responded to the consultation. She also asked for a breakdown in relation to faith communities in future reports. Councillor Anne Hutton asked about statistics on those who achieve level 3 qualifications by the age of 19.

Councillor David Longstaff asked about the plan to resolve the Dedicated Schools Grant deficit, and Councillor Hampton asked about how to measure inclusion.

Councillor Sue Baker asked what was being done to ensure health partners and the Integrated Care Board (ICB) were fulfilling their obligations in reducing waiting times for children with mental health issues and therapies. Councillor Pauline Coakley Webb agreed to arrange a joint scrutiny meeting with the health scrutiny to explore this issue.

My Say Matters Youth and Democracy Report

The committee reviewed the My Say Matters Youth and Democracy Report, which detailed the council's efforts to engage young people in civic activity and decision-making. Liz Shaw, Practice and Learning Manager, highlighted the increase in youth participation and the diverse backgrounds of the young people involved. She noted that the rebranding of the offer as work experience had been a turning point, as young people were keen to gain employment skills. Councillor Lucy Wakeley commented on the progress of the young people involved and encouraged other members to attend the meetings.

Financial Update

The committee discussed the Children's Services Quarterly Financial Update, which reported a forecast service overspend of £4.8 million across all council services, with children's and families services reporting a £1.224 million overspend. The report noted pressures on placements and increasing average placement fees. Sharon, a finance officer, explained that the overspend would be met by contingency funds and reserves. Councillor David Longstaff asked about the cost pressures for 2026-27 and 2027-28, and how the cost pressures would be reduced. Sharon explained that the £5 million would be embedded into the core budgets, and then there would be inflationary pressures. Councillor Nigel Wildish asked about the deficit and what preparatory work was being done in children's services to prepare for potential cuts. Sharon explained that work had already been done in terms of restructuring and realigning children's services. The committee made no recommendations to the Cabinet on the Children's Services Budget.

Task and Finish Group Updates

The committee received an update on Task and Finish Group activity and agreed to the scope for the Young Carers review. Councillor Lucy Wakeley said that the group was underway and hoped to report before the election.

Exempt Session

The committee moved into an exempt session to discuss the Barnet Learning Review.